The paper said there was also a possibility that the two titles would be “formally combined”. The merger was also reported by The Drum.

The Sunday Herald saw its circulation jump in 2014 when it backed the Yes vote for Scottish independence in a striking front page decorated with a giant thistle and saltires.

The paper was up 35 per cent year-on-year for the six-months to December 2014 at 32,204 copies. But this boost has not lasted, with circulation figures for the same period last year at 18,387 copies (all figures ABC).

Both Herald titles are best-sellers in Scotland.

The Herald sells 25,869 copies, according to ABC figures for the last six months of 2017 (the latest available). Over the same period in 2014 it sold 37,044 copies.

Circulation decline has been seen across the newspaper industry in recent years as readers have increasingly moved to digital to read the news in place of print. As a result, once lucrative print advertising has also fallen while new digital ad money is going to the likes of Facebook and Google.